Turkey on Monday night issued a new navigational telex (Navtex) for the continuation of survey activities of its Oruc Reis vessel until September 12.

The navtex was the third renewal in a row for the vessel which has been moving between Greece and Cyprus for several weeks, prompting a flurry of diplomacy, and now warnings, by European Union officials for it to withdraw. 

It followed a statement by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu according to which the Oruc Reis will remain in the East Med for another three months and an escalation of incendiary rhetoric by other Turkish officials including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who declared on Monday that the Oruc Reis will continue its activities and that Turkey won’t tolerate “piracy” in the Aegean and East Med.